In an attempt to expose holes in the security of global wireless systems, 28-year-old Karsten Nohl cracked the 21-year-old GSM algorithm, which is used to encrypt 80 percent of the world's mobile calls, reports the New York Times.

Nohl revealed his success at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, Germany. He said that 24 people worked independently to reproduce the code book, or binary code log, for the algorithm, which contains the equivalent of about two terabytes of data.

The GSM Association reportedly said that Nohl's actions were illegal in the U.S. and U.K., and said it was unlikely that Nohl had actually cracked the code.

Nohl reportedly said the code book is available on the Internet through BitTorrent.

The issue at the center of it all: should wireless carriers and/or the government take more steps to ensure the security of GSM wireless phone calls?

The GSM algorithm is an A5/1 algorithm, a 64-bit binary code now slightly outdated compared to the 128-bit codes used today to encrypt calls on third-generation networks. A successor, called the A5/3 encryption algorithm, was later developed, but most network operators haven't yet implemented it.

Earlier this year, he exposed weaknesses in the security algorithm for cordless home phones, prompting the DECT Forum, a standards group, to revisit it (.pdf). Nohl previously studied the security of RFID systems.

About 3.5 billion of the 4.3 billion wireless connections across the globe use GSM. In North America, 299 million consumers use the technology.